to want a baby even though I'm on a fixed-term contract and DH is a student?

How long have you worked there on FTCs? If your job is not being discontinued and they don't renew your contract because you are pregnant they are in a whole world of trouble. Even if you are on ML there are rules about you having to be offered any renewal of contract before the job can be advertised. Check the company's employment policies and also the laws around these things.

I'm a big believer in not waiting for the perfect time too, as it will never arrive and even if it does things may well not go according to plan.

I was (and still am) on FTC in my job and it has been a bit of a nightmare TBH. You do have certain entitlements, but you may have to fight for them and that can get tiring and dispiriting. Also my DH is our main wage earner, so we will be OK if I'm not working. Is that the case for you?

How much longer will he be a student? Do you have any medium term prospects of being made permanent?

Waiting even a couple of years might put you in a position that was a little more stable. Having small children will be needlessly more stressful if you do it when neither of you has a reliable income. You are young still, so there are good reasons for being a little patient and not putting yourself under unnecessary pressure.

However, I think your decision might also be influenced by how busy the job market you work in seems likely to be. If it seems quite likely that you would be able to take another job after having a baby then I think you can consider it, if you can live on maternity allowance + child benefit while you are off work and if you don't mind going back to work somewhat earlier than you might be able to do if you were employed rather than a contractor.

Also worth checking out of DH's university offers any childcare support or family accommodation, it might turn out that this is a good time to have a baby, with DH around a bit more to help and then maybe a bit more childcare than you would otherwise have available to you.

They wouldn't be allowed to not renew your contract because you were pregnant. There's never a 'right' time to have a baby but it is obviously better to try and consider how you would manage to fit one into your current situation before you ttc.

So you have 6 months (more like 4) to wait to find out whether your contract will be renewed? I would advise waiting until then, TBH. We had the attitude of 'we'll manage somehow' and the last 2 months of mat leave were hard as we physically didn't have enough money for bills. We are now paying off lots of electric and council tax. Nothing wrong with being skint for a short time as long as you know you have something to go back to (and some financial support while you are on leave is helpful too)